My Brothers Keeper

MY BROTHERS KEEPER Galatians 6:1-10 November 22, 2020 Most everyone has a next-door neighbor. Some of us know our neighbor very well. Some of us hardly know our neighbor at all. If your next-door neighbor was just an acquaintance, and you knew he was doing something wrong, would you confront him? If you knew your neighbor was stealing Wi-Fi from another house would you knock on his door and ask him to quit? Or, would you decide - not my Wi-fi, not my home, not my problem? What if that same neighbor was dumping his trash in another family's yard late at night? Would you confront him about that? What if he was selling drugs out of his home? Cars coming and going all hours of the day and night. No one actually disturbs you, but you know what's going on. Do you deal with that, or do you just mind your own business? Let's change the situation slightly. Instead of your neighbor being just an acquaintance - he is a good friend. You know the entire family well. You spend time eating in each other's homes. Your kids play together. Now, would you confront him about stealing Wi-fi, dumping trash, or selling drugs? Or, would you preserve harmony and let it go? Another change. Not only is the neighbor a friend, but he's a brother in Christ. You go to the same church. He teaches your Sunday school class. You both serve on the Stewards Team together. Now? Now would you confront him about stealing Wi-fi, dumping trash, or selling drugs? At what point is your neighbor's behavior none of your business, and at what point does confronting him become the right and necessary thing to do? Or, is it never your business? Is that what we have Police and Pastors for? We hire these people and pay them money to deal with problems like this, so we don't have to? Throughout his letters, Paul draws a distinction between humanity in general, and believers. People in general need help. And, we are obligated out of love for Jesus to help people. Pantry Express is important. 2020 has been a crazy year in so many ways, and more people are hungry than ever before. Because we love Jesus, we have an obligation to help where we can. No church can fix everything. Every church must prioritize. We feed hungry people. We don't house the homeless, we don't supply medical needs, we don't host job fairs. Those issues are important, but that's not what we do. We feed the hungry. But, Pantry Express is not an evangelism tool. We don't expect the people who get food to become Christian. We don't expect them to start attending church here. If they decide to embrace Jesus that's great, but that is not why we feed them. We feed them because they are God's favorite creation, and they are hungry. Paul says if you love Jesus, you have an obligation to serve humanity in general. But, you have a much bigger responsibility to other Christians. And, you have a huge responsibility, to the Christians who are part of your faith community. Paul writes (1), "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." Now, Paul gives us a lot of guidance right there. First, the word he uses for 'overcome by sin' is paraptōma, which is the same word for accidently slipping on ice and hurting yourself.1 So, he's not talking about someone who has decided to just embrace their sin and flaunt it. This is not someone who is aggressively sinning, and daring the community to do something about it. Those people are dealt with in another letter. Today, he's talking about someone who stumbles into sin. The brother who is searching the internet for electronic equipment, and stumbles into pornography, and becomes addicted. The sister, who hits a small scratch off lotto ticket win, and then becomes addicted to gambling. They didn't go looking for sin, they slipped. Paul says when we identify someone like this in our community, we must gently and humbly confront and help them. This is not public shaming in front of the church.2 In fact, most of the church doesn't need to know about this. It is confrontation, but with love and compassion. There is kindness in this confrontation. We don't intentionally embarrass them, or ruin their reputation. This is private, and confidential. And, Paul says this is not the responsibility of paid staff, this is every Christian's job. Now, I recognize this makes most of you uncomfortable. I get it. But, this is not about you. This is about the fallen brother. Which is more intimidating to them - a good friend from church asks them about their mistake, or the Pastor schedules an official counseling visit? At the same time, Paul says watch out for yourself. If your friend stumbled into this sin, you might fall too. If the sin has already captured one brother, don't let it capture a second. Now, that is not permission to avoid the confrontation.3 I'm afraid of this sin - so I won't say anything about it. Paul says, no - forewarned is forearmed. You know what you're going up against, so be careful. Paul goes on to say (2), "Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." The Galatians have been wrapped around the axel about circumcision. Do we need to be circumcised to prove we follow the Laws of God? Paul says, you want to prove you follow Jesus? Help each other. When you help someone else, you are always doing the right thing. And, helping someone get away from the sin which has snared them, is a huge, huge help. Now, his advice to share or carry another's burden would have been a little controversial.4 If you had a physically heavy load to carry, your neighbor never helped you. Hurting your back, or a limb, could be the end of providing for your family. An injury could financially ruin your family. So, you never helped a neighbor carry a burden. That's what slaves are for. That's what minimum wage employees are for. The idea of risking your own welfare, was craziness. Now, Paul is not talking about physical lifting is he? He's talking about carrying an emotional burden. Most of us are just as uncomfortable with that idea, as we are with physical lifting. I know this goes against what society deems acceptable; to you confront a brother about his sin. But, if the load is too heavy for the brother, what's he supposed to do? How will he survive? If you don't get involved, your brother has no hope. Now, Paul does understand there is a role and purpose for church staff. He writes (6), "Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them." The word he uses for teachers typically means the paid staff of a religious institute.5 If you wanted to understand the cult of Aphrodite, you paid a teacher to tell you how the religion worked. You didn't get salvation for free. Christianity was notably different, in that you learned everything about Jesus for free. You learned everything about living a grace-filled life for free. And, because Jesus paid the price of your sin, you are saved for free. No other religion like this at all. What Paul is advocating is to first of all recognize good teaching.6 Recognize when your teacher is building up and enriching your soul. You know when you've received good advice, versus when you've received highly questionable advice. You know the difference. Paul wants every Christian to be willing to confront their neighbor's sin. To be their brother's keeper. To gently, and humbly, correct their brother. But, the everyday Christian can only do that if they have been prepared by the church staff. Paul says, you probably won't want to confront your brother about his sin. It will make you very uncomfortable. But, if you know what should be done - thank your teacher. How do you thank your teacher? Not with money. You thank them, by doing the right thing. You reward their teaching by living out the lessons you were taught. Paul wants to see the Galatians reward him, by loving their neighbor as themselves. Now, if you trip and stumble into sin, there will be consequences.7 All sin has consequences. If you spend your days doing harmful drugs, and drinking to drunkenness - your body is going to suffer. No matter how much your church loves you, you are going to physically suffer the consequences of your behavior. If you spend your days taking your family for granted - you will suffer heartbreak. Every time I pray with you I ask you to pray for your family, and the people you love. Because I cannot take away your heartbreak if you abuse your family. Paul is brutally honest with the church when he says you will reap what you sow.8 Your chickens will come home to roost. And, if you are the Christian who the Holy Spirit directs to confront your brother about his sin - be completely aware you cannot deflect his consequences. You can gently, and humbly, and lovingly, get him to stop sinning. And, that will reduce the severity of the consequences. You can do that for your brother. But, you cannot take away the consequences which have already accrued. If that bothers you - good. That should provide motivation to confront your brother sooner, rather than later. Paul says, in fact, speaking of consequences - let's take it a step further. When you confront your brother about his sin, you create a stronger Christian. Stronger Christians help find and convert new Christians. So, more people get saved, and the Church gets stronger. Your willingness to be your brother's keeper has eternal consequences.9 Most of us don't like the idea of confronting someone about their sin. It makes us horribly uncomfortable. If your neighbor is not saved, don't waste your time. Your arguments will make no sense to them. It's like trying to explain geometry to a pig. You will never get the response you want, and it really annoys the pig. If your neighbor is a Christian, if they are your spiritual brother, there is a difference between intentional deliberate sin, and making a mistake. If your brother is actively, aggressively, pursuing the sin of his choice - there is an entirely different approach that needs to happen. In that case, you definitely get the church staff involved. And, you will publicly identify the problem. But, if your brother, has accidently stumbled into sin - and he is suffering consequences - then today's lesson is for you. You should speak to him about his mistake. Do it with kindness. Do it with compassion and understanding. Don't send the preacher, or the Administrative Council. Do it yourself. Yes, you will be uncomfortable. But, it's not about you. Make sure you don't slip into the same sin. Protect yourself and your family. But, don't let that be an excuse to avoid the confrontation. If you do this, you will decrease the severity of the consequences your brother suffers. And, you will create a stronger Christian, who goes on to create other strong Christians. And, that makes Jesus smile. You are your brother's keeper. 1 William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002), 63. 2 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 2054. 3 R. C. Sproul, general editor. New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1857. 4 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, 2054. 5 Ibid. 6 Basil F. Davis, "Severianus of Gabala and Galatians 6:6-10," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 69 no. 2 (April 2007), 292-301. 7 William Barclay, 65. 8 Frank J. Matera, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 2088. 9 Aaron Michael Jensen, "MH EKΛYOMENOI in Galatians 6:9," Tyndale Bulletin, 69 no. 1 (2018), 97-110. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2